c. 1810-1830

Hawk Attacking a Wild Duck

This book cover exemplifies the exquisitely painted papier-mâché for which artists in the Himalayan foothills have long been recognized. The scene of a hawk attacking a duck may be a direct adaptation from a painting done about 1740 by the master painter Nainsukh, who worked in the same region. (An inscription on Nainsukh's work likens the helpless duck to a timid new wife.) This cover's size, distinctive octagonal frame, and ornamentation may indicate that it was once the cover for a series depicting a group of goddesses called the ten Mahavidyas, known from several extant pages. That series, however, is vertically oriented which means that the landscape on this cover would have been turned on its side.